


The Lure of the Lake

by SisterDuffin



Category: Casualty (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2020-05-31 18:41:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19431874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SisterDuffin/pseuds/SisterDuffin
Summary: They never tell you how long it will take for you to feel normal after your rape. For Alicia, all she wants is that normality back in her life. For her to be her again. [Suggestive themes present, implied suicidal thoughts]





	The Lure of the Lake

She was supposed to be healing, putting back the pieces with sticky tape and making herself whole again. Only it wasn’t working, she wasn’t healing as quick as she wanted too.

She laughed angrily and grabbed her keys off the side. Shoving the keys into her pocket, she slammed the door closed behind her and went for a run. As the world passed by her, she pushed herself harder on the run. She needed to feel something, feel the burn that often occupied running.

The sensation of her heart racing, her laboured breathing as she pushed her body to the max. How she felt sick and dizzy, like her legs were going to collapse under her any minute. She had no destination in mind, the further away from everything the better.

She stops at a lake as she leans over with her hands on her knees, desperately trying to breathe. Her heart feels like it’s going to beat out of her chest, a very loud thudding that fills her ears and deafens her.

She swallows hard as she looks up. The world looks so beautiful in dusk. The natural beauty of the world. The way the sunset bounces off the ripples in the lake, how the lake shines. She takes a step towards the lake, looking down at the surface of the water.

Peaceful, it looks peaceful.

That’s all she wanted deep down. Peace. To return to being the person she was before Eddie shattered her to pieces - not the person she was currently, the one who afraid of her own shadow. She took another step towards the lake. And then another.

Maybe the lake held the answer.

Maybe the lake could heal her?

She took another step of the embankment, about to go into the water when she felt an arm around her waist to pull her back. Instantly, Alicia’s fight or flight reflex kicked in and she fought against the stranger, back heeling him in the shins, screaming.

“Let go off me!!”

She continued to fight before she heard a whisper in her ear. “Alicia, it’s me Iain.”

He moved her back from the embankment before releasing his grip from around her waist. The reality of the situation dawned on Alicia and she burst into tears, collapsing to the floor. Iain caught her and sat down with her, the blonde burying her head into his chest. She continued to sob, nothing spoken between the two.

“I…. I wasn’t…” she shook her head. She wasn’t going to walk into that lake, was she? Iain wasn’t going to take that risk. He wasn’t going to leave her, just in case she did ‘fall’ into the lake. He’d have that death on his conscience too.

Alicia moved slightly, wiping away the tears that had collected onto her cheeks. She wondered how Iain knew it was her. And also, why he was there. Lakes didn’t seem like the kind of place, Iain would go for a walk.

“Are you okay?”

Alicia leaves his question to linger as she collected her thoughts. Okay? What even was the definition of that word anymore? She scraped her top teeth over her lower lip, bit down and replied;

“Yeah. I just… I went for a run, that’s all. What are you doing here?”

“I was passing.”

Alicia nodded though she didn’t believe a word he was saying. She stood up from the grass, picking up the keys that had fallen from her pocket and shifted slightly. Looking down at her keys, she took a deep breath and replied; “I, I best get back.”

Iain remained sat on the grass. Looking up to catch her eye, he nodded.

“Will you be alright on your own? It’s getting late.”

“Erm, yeah.” She smiled slightly and put her keys and her hands in her pocket. “I’ll run back.” She paused, “see you tomorrow?”

He nodded again, “see you tomorrow.”

Alicia took one last look at the lake, turned around, took a deep breath and began her run back home. Iain, waiting for Alicia to move out of sight; stood from the embankment and moved closer to the edge of the lake.

The surface was smooth, no sign of any ripples almost like it had been frozen in time. He continued to stare at it for a while, attracted to its tranquillity before he to, like Alicia, turned to walk away.


End file.
